Directive 2004/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Directive 2004/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 29 April 2004

amending Council Directive 96/48/EC on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system and Directive 2001/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 71 and 156 thereof,

Having regard to the Commission proposal(1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty(4), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 23 March 2004,

Whereas:

(1) Under Articles 154 and 155 of the Treaty, the Community must contribute to the establishment and development of trans-European networks in the transport sector. In order to achieve these objectives, the Community must take any action necessary to ensure the interoperability of the networks, particularly in the field of technical standardisation.

(2) An initial measure was taken in the rail sector with the adoption of Directive 96/48/EC(5). In order to implement the objectives of that Directive, technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs) have been drafted by the European Association for Railway Interoperability (AEIF), which was designated as the joint representative body in the framework of that Directive, and adopted by the Commission on 30 May 2002.

(3) On 10 September 1999 the Commission adopted a report to the European Parliament and the Council which gave an initial assessment of progress made in implementing the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system. In its Resolution of 17 May 2000(6), the European Parliament called on the Commission to submit proposals for amending Directive 96/48/EC on the basis of the model used for Directive 2001/16/EC(7).

(4) Directive 2001/16/EC, like Directive 96/48/EC, introduces Community procedures for the preparation and adoption of TSIs, and common rules for assessing conformity with the TSIs. A mandate for the development of the first group of TSIs has been given to the AEIF, also designated as the Joint Representative Body.

(5) A number of lessons have been learned from the work on developing TSIs in the high-speed sector, the application of Directive 96/48/EC to specific projects and the work of the committee set up under that Directive, which have led the Commission to propose changes to the two Directives on railway interoperability.

(6) The adoption of Regulation (EC) No .../2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... establishing a European Railway Agency (Agency Regulation)(8) and of Directive 2004/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on safety on the Community's railways (Railway Safety Directive)(9) means that certain provisions of Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC need to be amended. In particular, once the Agency is established, the task of drafting any new or revised TSIs will be entrusted to it by the Commission.

(7) The entry into force of Directives 2001/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 amending Council Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways(10), 2001/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 amending Council Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway undertakings(11) and 2001/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure and safety certification(12) has an impact on the implementation of interoperability. As in the case of other transport modes, the extension of access rights must be accompanied by the requisite harmonisation measures. It is therefore necessary to implement interoperability on the whole network by extending progressively the geographical scope of Directive 2001/16/EC. It is also necessary to extend the legal basis of Directive 2001/16/EC to Article 71 of the Treaty, on which Directive 2001/12/EC is founded.

(8) The White Paper on European transport policy announces this Directive, which is part of the Commission's strategy to revitalise rail transport and, consequently, to shift the balance between transport modes, with the ultimate objective of reducing congestion on Europe's roads.

(9) The TSIs developed in the framework of Directive 96/48/EC do not explicitly concern the work on renewing infrastructure and rolling stock, or replacements in the context of preventive maintenance. This is the case, however, under Directive 2001/16/EC on the conventional rail system, and the two Directives should be harmonised on this point.

(10) The development of TSIs in the high-speed sector has shown the need to clarify the relationship between the essential requirements of Directive 96/48/EC and the TSIs, on the one hand, and the European standards and other documents of a normative nature on the other. In particular, a clear distinction should be drawn between the standards or parts of standards which must be made mandatory in order to achieve the objectives of that Directive, and the "harmonised" standards that have been developed in the spirit of the new approach to technical harmonisation and standardisation.

(11) As a rule, the European specifications are developed in the spirit of the new approach to technical harmonisation and standardisation. They enable a presumption to be made of conformity with certain essential requirements of Directive 96/48/EC, particularly in the case of interoperability constituents and interfaces. These European specifications, or the applicable parts thereof, are not mandatory and no explicit reference to these specifications may be made in the TSIs. References to these European specifications are published in the Official Journal of the European Union, and Member States publish the references to the national standards transposing the European standards.

(12) TSIs may in certain cases make an explicit reference to European standards or specifications where this is strictly necessary in order to achieve the objectives of this Directive. Such explicit reference has consequences which must be made clear, in particular, these European standards or specifications become mandatory from the moment the TSI is applicable.

(13) The TSI sets all the conditions with which an interoperability constituent must conform, and the procedure to be followed in assessing conformity. In addition, it is necessary to specify that every constituent must undergo the procedure for assessing conformity and suitability for the use indicated in the TSIs and have the corresponding certificate.

(14) It is necessary for safety reasons to require Member States to assign an identification code to each vehicle placed in service. The vehicle should then be entered in a national vehicle register. The registers must be open to consultation by all Member States and by certain Community economic players. The registers should be consistent as regards the data format. They should therefore be covered by common operational and technical specifications.

(15) The procedure to be followed in the case of essential requirements applicable to a subsystem which have not yet been covered by detailed specifications in the corresponding TSI should be specified. In such case, the bodies responsible for the conformity assessment and verification procedures should be those already notified under Article 20 of Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC.

(16) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(13).

(17) The definition of rolling stock in Annex I to Directive 96/48/EC should be clarified. The Directive should also concern rolling stock designed to operate only on track upgraded for high speeds, at speeds of the order of 200 km/h.

(18) The application of this Directive should, as far as possible, preserve the work already undertaken in the framework of Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC and the application of these Directives by Member States in the framework of projects which are at an advanced stage of development when this Directive enters into force.

(19) Since the objective of the proposed action, namely the interoperability of the trans-European rail system, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of its trans-European character as recognised by the Treaty, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(20) TSIs applicable to the high-speed rail system concerning infrastructure, rolling stock, energy, control, command and signalling, operation and maintenance were adopted on 30 May 2002 by the Commission. The draft TSIs referred to in Article 1(5) and 2(5) pertain to the revision of these TSIs or to the adoption of new TSIs.

(21) Since a draft reference system of technical rules concerning the current degree of interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system is being developed as provided for in Article 25 of Directive 2001/16/EC, there is a need to update these technical rules in view of the extension of the scope of that Directive and also taking account of the first group of TSIs to be adopted by 2004.

(22) Notwithstanding the exemptions from the scope of Directive 2001/16/EC, the voluntary application of the relevant provisions of that Directive by the Member States at national level should be encouraged, with a view to increasing cost efficiency and economies of scale in the manufacturing sector.

(23) It is therefore necessary to amend Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

(1)

OJ C 126E, 28.5.2002, p. 312.

(2)

OJ C 61,14.3.2003, p. 131.

(3)

OJ C 66,19.3.2003, p. 5.

(4)

Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 January 2003 (OJ C 38 E, 12.2.2004, p. 119), Council Common Position of 26 June 2003 (OJ C 270 E, 11.11.2003, p. 7 and Position of the European Parliament of 23 October 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Legislative Resolution of the European Parliament of 22 April 2004 and Decision of the Council of 26 April 2004.

(5)

OJ L 235,17.9.1996, p. 6. Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(6)

OJ C 59, 23.2.2001, p. 121.

(7)

OJ L 110,20.4.2001, p. 1.

(8)

OJ L

(9)

OJ L

(10)

OJ L 75, 15.3.2001, p. 1.

(11)

OJ L 75, 15.3.2001, p. 26.

(12)

OJ L 75,15.3.2001, p. 29. Directive as amended by Commission Decision 2002/844/EC (OJ L 289,26.10.2002, p. 30).

(13)

OJ L 184,17.7.1999, p. 23.